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Born Standing Up:

A Comic's Life
Front Cover
163 Reviews
Simon and Schuster, Nov 20, 2007 - Biography & Autobiography - 224 pages
In the midseventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. This book is, in his own words, the story of "why I did stand-up and why I walked away."

Emmy and Grammy Award winner, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, Martin has always been awriter. His memoir of his years in stand-up is candid, spectacularly amusing, and beautifully written.

At age ten Martin started his career at Disneyland, selling guidebooks in the newly opened theme park. In the decade that followed, he worked in the Disney magic shop and the Bird Cage Theatre at Knott's Berry Farm, performing his first magic/comedy act a dozen times a week. The story of these years, during which he practiced and honed his craft, is moving and revelatory. The dedication to excellence and innovation is formed at an astonishingly early age and never wavers or wanes.

Martin illuminates the sacrifice, discipline, and originality that made him an icon and informs his work to this day. To be this good, to perform so frequently, was isolating and lonely. It took Martin decades to reconnect with his parents and sister, and he tells that story with great tenderness. Martin also paints a portrait of his times -- the era of free love and protests against the war in Vietnam, the heady irreverence of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the late sixties, and the transformative new voice of Saturday Night Live in the seventies.

Throughout the text, Martin has placed photographs, many never seen before. Born Standing Up is a superb testament to the sheer tenacity, focus, and daring of one of the greatest and most iconoclastic comedians of all time.

  

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5 stars
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First of all, Steve Martin is a great writer. - Goodreads
I also didn't know he was a writer. - Goodreads
The ending was decent though and a quicker read. - Goodreads
The pictures included in the book are great fun. - Goodreads
I love his writing style. - Goodreads
Steve Martin is a good writer, this was just boring. - Goodreads

Review: Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

User Review  - Louise - Goodreads

For someone who writes such great comedy, I had expected more than this, not just the length of the narrative (this is an essay, more than a book) but more insight. Martin gives us his thoughts on ... Read full review

Review: Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

User Review  - Kaitlin - Goodreads

Started off slow for me, then really picked up towards the end. I'm a fan of Steve Martin's writing and screenwriting, so I was pretty excited to read this for his own literary take on his stand up ... Read full review

All 132 reviews »

Related books

Contents

beforehand
Comedy Through the Airwaves
Disneyland
The bird Cage Theatre
Television
The road
Standing Down
Acknowledgments
Copyright

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References from web pages

Temple of the Seven Golden Camels: Born Standing Up
For Christmas I received Steve Martin's new Autobiography "Born Standing Up". It chronicles his childhood, adolescence and his rocky, meandering road to ...
sevencamels.blogspot.com/ 2008/ 01/ born-standing-up.html

Born Standing Up: Blogs, Photos, Videos and more on Technorati
26 posts tagged Born Standing Up. Subscribe. Posts; Blogs · Photos · Videos. search in. entire post, tags only. of blogs with ...
technorati.com/ tag/ Born+Standing+Up

Excerpt from 'Born Standing Up' - USATODAY.com
By Steve Martin. Beforehand. I DID STAND-UP COMEDY for eighteen years. Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were ...
www.usatoday.com/ life/ books/ excerpts/ 2007-11-20-born-standing-up_N.htm

Steve Martin - Born Standing Up «
Steve Martin - Born Standing Up. January 21, 2008 by Wiberg · Steve Martin. Steve Martin has a new, excellent, 207 page book out in stores this month, ...
markwiberg.com/ 2008/ 01/ 21/ steve-martin-born-standing-up/

myspace.com - Born Standing Up - 27 - Male - PHOENIX, Arizona ...
myspace profile for Born Standing Up with pictures, videos, personal blog, interests, information about me and more
profile.myspace.com/ index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile& friendid=306498848

West Karana » Now Reading… Born Standing Up, by Steve Martin
Posted by: Tipa in General. Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. You might have noticed the new “Now Reading” section at the top of the sidebar. ...
westkarana.com/ index.php/ 2008/ 03/ 16/ now-reading-born-standing-up-by-steve-martin/

Steve Martin's Born Standing Up, reviewed. - By Ben Yagoda - Slate ...
According to the census bureau, roughly 40 percent of the American populace was born after 1981, which means that Steve Martin has not been a stand-up ...
www.slate.com/ id/ 2179047/ fr/ rss/

Flak Magazine | Born Standing Up, 12.12.07
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life is the story of how this son of suburbia acquired the leverage he needed to take this risk, and what he sacrificed to reap ...
www.flakmag.com/ books/ bornstanding.html

SN&R > arts&culture > Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life > 12.13.07
By Jaime O'Neill. Funny-man chronicles his own success, self-doubt, shitty movies
www.newsreview.com/ chico/ Content?oid=606252

Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life by Steve Martin « Rabbit, Read
Posted by rabbitboy under books I've read | Tags: a comic's life, born standing up, bouncing baby rabbit, bringing down the house, bunny ears, ...
rabbitboy.wordpress.com/ 2008/ 02/ 12/ born-standing-up-a-comics-life-by-steve-martin/

About the author (2007)

Steve Martin is one of today's most talented performers. He has had huge success as a film actor, with such credits as Cheaper by the Dozen, Father of the Bride, Roxanne, Parenthood, L.A. Story, and many others. He has won Emmys for his television writing and two Grammys for his comedy albums. In addition to his bestselling novel The Pleasure of My Company and a collection of comic pieces, Pure Drivel, he has also written a play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile. He lives in Los Angeles.

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